When Did You Fall In Love With Me, Hershel?
by shadow101202
Summary: Hershel Layton, gentleman and puzzle-solver extraordinaire, has been captured, and put in a tight spot. Will Luke and Flora find their beloved mentor in time, or has the good professor finally met his match?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** What would a Professor Layton fic be without some puzzles? Mwahahaha! I have placed three puzzles of my own design, for you, the audience, throughout this story. I was going to put a link to some puzzle music, but unfortunately, external links printed on this website aren't working right now, on the account of spam-bots and what not. Just open a new tab, go to youtube, and type in 'puzzle theme', should be the third or fourth video on the list.

Also, the 1st chapter is the longest, just to let you know. Well, take a second to let open that video in a new tab, to let it load while you read, and enjoy the story! Can't wait to get feedback on this story.

For a **_disclaimer_ **see my profile: **shadow101202**

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><p><em><strong>Chapter 1<strong>_

"Come on Luke! We were supposed to be their ten minutes ago!" Flora said over her shoulder as the two of them wound through the lunch hour crowd in the plaza.

"I'm sorry Flora, but I really couldn't hold it anymore!" Luke said a little too loudly for Flora's taste. She shook her head as they continued walking. Finally getting past the crowd they rounded a corner and Flora exclaimed,

"There it is Luke! 'The Full Glass'! That's the cafe where he the professor said he'd meet us!" Luke was huffing and puffing, trying to keep up with Flora's quick paced walk. She carefully looked both directions before crossing the street, with Luke in tow. Flora peeked in the window as they went through the front door. A bell jingled overhead to signal their arrival. Neither Flora, nor Luke could see the professor anywhere in the shop, although his characteristic 'Laytonmobile' was parked on the street outside. The proprietor smiled at them and motioned them over to the counter where he stood by the register.

"What can I do for you two young ones?" asked the kindly older looking man.

"Um, excuse me, but has a tall, gentlemanly looking man come in this shop today?" Flora asked the kind looking shopkeeper.

"He wears a top hat!" Luke added urgently.

"Well, let me see now… Several people with that description have come by today. I might remember if you help me out by solving this puzzle-," the shopkeep was abruptly cut off by Luke, who all but shouted,

"We don't have time for puzzles; the professor could be in real danger!"

"Now Luke, if you want to become a true gentleman someday, you must learn to put others needs before your own," Flora scolded lightly.

"But I am Flora; I'm putting the professor's well-being above my own!" Luke pleaded with Flora. Flora was having none of it though, as she turned to the shopkeep to say,

"Of course we'll solve your puzzle."

"Oh splendid!" Exclaimed the older man. Luke sighed, but figured he needed to focus on the task at hand.

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><p>Puzzle 001<p>

"One man came in with a young lady, they ordered two of the daily special, and as you can see they are still here. Another came in with an older man, they both had tea, and left separately. One man came in by himself, ordered coffee and was joined by another man who had nothing but water, they left together. Three other men came by that matched your description, they each came separately, ordered tea, and left shortly after finishing."

Which of the parties is Professor Layton?

A. The young man and young woman still in the café.

B. The two gentleman who had tea and left.

C. The man who ordered coffee and left with the man who had water.

D. One of the three other men who had tea and left.

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><p>"It must be one of the last three," Flora said, "What do you think Luke?" Said apprentice frowned while scratching his head,<p>

"Although that seems logical, I think it was one of the pairs." The shopkeeper then asked,

"Is there anymore identifying qualities about the man you're looking for?" Luke and Flora mulled it over for a bit before Luke answered,

"His name is Professor Layton; I'm his apprentice, Luke Triton."

"I am Flora Reinhold, the professor absolutely loves puzzles," Flora added. The man behind the counter muttered something to himself and began to rummage through the impaled orders on the counter.

"Ah, yes, now I remember," The shopkeeper said as he held up a particular scrap of paper.

_**(Are you ready for the answer?)**_

"The man who had coffee actually had tea. I was so busy chatting about a new puzzle with him, that I forgot and wrote down the wrong order," the man explained.

"So he left with someone?" Flora asked.

"Yes, the man he left with kind of a shady guy. That man wore a boulder hat and deep blue tinted sunglasses," Luke frowned as the older man described the person the professor had left with.

"Deep blue tinted lenses? What a strange color for glasses," Luke murmured.

"Yes, I thought so too," the older man nodded in agreement, "but there's really nothing for it. Hmm, if my memory serves me correctly, and it usually does," Luke rolled his eyes, "the two of them left about two o' clock, and went towards the park," When the shopkeeper looked up, Flora and Luke were already out the door. He heard a faint 'thank you' and smirked to himself. _Time to call the boss and let him know that the 'packages' are on their merry way…_

"Why would they come to the park?" asked Luke, as they came to a stop near the center of the commons area. Flora looked around admiring the scenery,

"Maybe they stopped to feed the pigeons," she then motioned to a woman sitting on the lone bench in the vicinity. "We should ask that lady if she has seen anyone come by," Flora suggested.

"Good idea," remarked Luke. While the two junior sleuths walked towards the older woman, she tossed a fresh bunch of bread crumbs for the assortment of gathered birds.

"Well hello dearies, would you like to feed the birds?" Flora graciously declined,

"No thank you, maybe some other time. Right now we are looking for someone. We thought you might have seen him pass this way."

"His name is professor Layton, puzzle solver, scholar, and above all a gentleman. I'm his apprentice Luke Triton, and this is our friend Flora Reinhold," Luke interjected excitedly.

"Don't forget Luke he also wears a top hat," Flora added.

"Oh yes, I've seen your friend," the woman said cheerfully.

"Really?" the two children exclaimed in unison.

"Yes, he and his strange friend were examining the old riddle on the fountain over there," she made a motion at the detailed waterworks centerpiece, "People have been going on that treasure hunt for years, but no one has ever found the lost jewels… Anyway, they seemed to know where to go and headed off somewhere," the bird lady finished. Flora looked at the woman somewhat confused,

"The Lost Jewels?" she asked.

"Yes, my dear, it's a bit of a local legend," the woman explained, "would you like the gist of it?" the woman offered.

"I guess it would be good to do some research... We need to know everything we can in order to solve that puzzle!" Luke exclaimed.

"Mmm, Yes that's true," the bird woman cleared her throat, "Well a long time ago, most of this area belonged to a certain family, unfortunately, I don't remember the name, but that probably isn't so important... Anyway, after the family reached the pinnacle of their status, they was befallen a terrible tragedy, their only daughter passed away from unknown causes, that wasn't the only mystery though... She had recently been engaged and was so in love with her fiance. He had sent her some jewels, as an engagement present, it's said there were twelve extremely valuable jewels. When he heard of her death, he came to the household, wishing to collect his engagement present as a memento of her, but although everyone searched that house from attic to basement, they were no where to be found. There are some who think that she knew that she was going to die, and so she had her closest maid hide the gems, so that she could sew them into the hem of her mistresses funeral dress, so that she could be buried with the only gift from her beloved. Some even say that she can be seen walking through the graveyard at night in her wedding gown, waiting for her love to come and take her to the altar," the woman took a deep breath after relaying the story to the children, "And that my dearies is the story of The Lost Jewels," she concluded.

"How, sad, yet romantic," Flora had to say about the story. "Did you happen to see which direction they went in?" she asked.

"No, I didn't really pay attention, sorry, and before you even ask, I'm no good with puzzles, so I can't help you there," she had seen the look Luke had on his face, ready to ask her a question.

"You mean you don't know where they went?" Luke asked exasperated.

"No, but you two look pretty bright, I'm sure you'll solve it," the lady reassured him.

"Thank you for your help ma'am. Come on Luke let's solve that puzzle!" Flora said with renewed enthusiasm. Luke sighed; Flora liked puzzles almost as much as the professor did.

"Well let's get on with it then," Luke and Flora looked at the metal plate on the fountain's tower.

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><p>Puzzle 002<p>

Death doth cross thy path,

the spirits are loud and clear.

Where do I lay down to lie,

as memories are held so dear?

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><p>"This riddle is so sad," Flora commented on the tone of the riddle.<p>

"Yeah… Oh! But I know where to go next!" exclaimed Luke.

"Oh good, but before we go, I should take a picture of the stone slab with my new camera phone," Flora said as she pulled out said phone and clicked a few pictures. "So where are we going Luke?" Flora asked.

_**(Are you ready for the answer?)**_

"To the Manchester Cemetery!"

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><p>Thanks for Reading!<br>Love it? Hate it? Please leave a review to let me know. (Anonymous Reviews Welcome).


	2. Chapter 2

Yay! Second chapter! Enjoy!

For a _**disclaimer **_see my profile: **shadow101202**

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><p><em><strong>Chapter 2<strong>_

Hershel Layton awoke to a brilliantly stunning headache. The last thing he remembered, he had been walking with that man… The man with the blue tinted glasses… Johnathen Walker is what he had introduced himself as, but Layton had no doubt that it was just an alias. As he sat up to see where he was, his head met with the ceiling and resounded with a jolting crack. _Hmm, that's odd, _thought the professor as he felt the space around him. Growing accustomed to the low light, the professor pulled out a match from the matchbook he'd picked up off the counter at the cafe. When he struck the match, the professor read some horrifying words scrawled out in what he could only hope to be red ink.

Six feet under, do you know

where you are Hershel?

P.S. Don't forget to check your

pocket for your last puzzle.-W

With slightly shaky hands, and a heavy heart, Hershel pulled out a small scrap of parchment which read:

Q. How many minutes of air in a casket? A. **NOT ENOUGH**.

Taking a few steadying breathes, the professor thought to himself, _don't panic Hershel; the most important thing to do is to stay calm and think of the logical solution. _As Hershel went back over the day's events, the chances of getting rescued were looking ever slim. _And here I'm usually the one telling the children not to go off with strangers… _Hershel felt the top of his head in dismay, and pulled it away when he felt dampness. _My, my, you must've hit yourself pretty hard this time, hm? He even had the audacity to take my hat… Well I suppose I still won't be underdressed for my own funeral…_

"Don't talk like that Hershel! You mustn't give up hope!" said a familiar voice.

"Claire? Is that you?" The professor sat up from resting his head on Claire's lap to find himself sitting on a park bench in the middle of a field filled with beautiful sunset setting off in the distance. "Where are we? Is this… heaven?" Layton looked around taking in the scenery.

"Of course not silly," Claire said with a sad smile, "this is your own mind trying to cope with a life threatening situation, you're having a mental break Hershel," she finished.

"Oh yes… how silly of me," Hershel echoed.

"Would you like to have some tea, Hershel?" Claire offered to brighten the mood.

"Why yes, Claire, that would be lovely," Layton replied as the couple walked over to a quaint little table set for two.

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><p>"Inspector Chelmey! What are you doing here?" Luke asked excitedly.<p>

"Now, ahem, let's see… Barton! Why are we here?" the inspector detective asked his deputy.

"Sir, we are here to investigate a robbery, sir!" the cheerful man said to his superior.

"Ah yes, as I was saying we are here concerning a break-in and robbery," confirmed the inspector.

"A robbery? In a cemetery?" Flora questioned.

"Yes, my dear, the items reported missing were a few shovels, and a casket, among other things…" the tall man informed the children.

"Sounds like they couldn't afford the funeral, so they dun it themselves," Barton said jokingly. Suddenly a strange noise filled the air.

"Confound it! What is that awful noise?" asked the inspector as he covered his ears.

"Sorry! That's the ringtone for my new cell phone. I'll answer it now," Flora said as she picked up the cellular device. "Hello, this is Flora, may I ask who is calling?" there was a moment of silence as she waited for the reply from the other end of the line. "Hmm, Inspector Chelmey? Yes he's here… Alright I'll put him on now, please hold," Flora handed the phone to the inspector, "It's for you," the inspector took the phone from Flora.

"Chelmey speaking," Chelmey answered the phone. "Hmm, what's that? You say you did hold a funeral here?" Chelmey's voice rose.

"Of course, my dear detective, but don't worry I marked him clearly for you, so you can leave flowers for him. It is with great integrity that I can tell you I resided over the procession for an honorable man… a funeral for Professor Hershel Layton. May he rest in peace."

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><p>Thanks for Reading!<br>Love it? Hate it? Please leave a review to let me know. (Anonymous Reviews Welcome).


	3. Chapter 3

Thank you to all of those who have reviewed, favorited, and followed this story!

Reply to Anonymous Reviews:

To **Syd**: I'm glad you think this has potential! Thank you for leaving a review!

For a **_disclaimer _**see my profile: **shadow101202**

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><p><em><strong>Chapter 3<strong>_

"Hmm, what's that? You say you did hold a funeral here?" Chelmey's voice rose.

"Of course, my dear detective, but don't worry I marked him clearly for you, so you can leave flowers for him. It is with great integrity that I can tell you I resided over the procession for an honorable man… a funeral for Professor Hershel Layton. May he rest in peace."

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><p>"A picture is worth a thousand words, don't you agree?" questioned the mystery caller.<p>

"You _buried _him! Are you insane? What does that saying have to do with anything? Hello! Hello! …Blast! He hung up on me! Barton!" Chelmey began barking orders for back-up and backhoes. Flora was shaking as she clenched her fists and Luke had turned the color of milk.

"P-professor…" Luke put his hat over his face, so Flora couldn't see his face. Just then Flora got a text on her phone, which Chelmey had given back to her.

"Luke!" She said placing a hand over her mouth as she showed the picture message to him. The screen read as follows:

_If u don't slv the pzle soon ur precious professor will stay xactly wher he is, prmnently. Bttr hurry. With 3 –W*_

Luke's eyes widened as he took in the picture after reading the message. The professor lay in an open casket without his trademark top hat. After the picture, was another message that repeated the clue that Chelmey had received.

_A pic is worth a 1000 wrds, do u agree?*_

Luke had a realization,

"Flora the picture of that riddle, quick!" Flora's eyes widened in understanding. She pulled up the picture of the riddle-poem:

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><p>Puzzle 003<p>

Death doth cross thy path,

the spirits are loud and clear.

Where do I lay down to lie,

as memories are held so dear?

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><p>Flora read the poem aloud quickly, and then slowly. Luke listened to her as looked out across the sea of tombstones, six feet below one of them lay the professor, and this puzzle would lead them to him. His eyes flitted over to Inspector Chelmey who was arguing with the caretaker, behind them, the reinforcements were arriving with shovels. There seemed to be no way to get their attention.<p>

When Luke tugged desperately on Chelmey's sleeve to catch his eye, Chelmey knocked him over, not on purpose of course. But Luke was emotionally overwhelmed by the situation and shed a single tear as he sat on the ground, he had to face it, there was ne'er to slim chances that he was ever going to see the professor alive again. Flora stepped up next to her fallen comrade and after she had him steady on his feet, she did something Luke had never seen her do. Flora got angry.

"HEY!" She yelled loudly. That made everyone look at her. "A man is buried in a casket, suffocating, and all you can do is stand here bickering? We have this puzzle, and we have the clues to find him. So what are we waiting for?" Everyone did a double-take of the young girl.

That's right, nobody messes with my rival! The nerve!_**(Lol, Don Paulo XD) **_Luke gasped as Don Paulo stepped forward. "You've figured out the first step, am I right young lady?" he questioned. Flora nodded with determination fierce in her eyes. Flora posed and made a famous "Layton point",

_**(Are you ready for the answer?)**_

"That statue!" Everyone turned to look at the statue in the middle of the pathway a few rows away, "Death doth cross thy path!" Sure enough it was a statue of the grim reaper himself.

"What's the next clue?" Don Paulo asked urgently. Flora frowned as she read the next line of the poem,

"The spirits are loud and clear," There were some murmurs from the crowd of officers and pedestrians that had gathered to help. Suddenly the caretaker spoke up,

"This area used to be called Whiskey Hill after the Whiskey family; in fact, they are buried here in this very cemetery," the man said. Chelmey rubbed his brow,

"That doesn't narrow down the search area at all," he said frustratingly.

"No! It fits, the next clue is, where do I lay down to lie!" Luke exclaimed.

"Follow me," said the gravekeeper as he led them to the Whiskey graves. "Here they be," He said motioning to the graves. "What's the next clue chillens? asked the old man. Luke paled as he read the last line,

"As memories are held so dear… what does it mean?" Luke was looking upset again, which only made Flora more worried.

"All right everyone! Fan out, I want every grave stone checked, understand?" Chelmey barked, "Move out!" Luke and Flora started checking graves, but just as Luke was going to give up, he spotted a familiar object. Running as fast as his little legs would carry him, he came upon the professor's top hat. Blanching he looked at the grave which read; here lies Professor Hershel Layton a good scholar, but not good enough.-W Luke collapsed to his knees and started digging with his hands.

"Here," he said in a strained voice choked with emotion, barely above a whisper. He tried again, "HERE! The professor's here!" Luke was crying and tearing at the ground desperately, until he was hauled away by Don Paulo so that the police could dig. The seconds turned into minutes which felt like eternity. Amidst the struggle to dig into the ground, a hard metallic clanging noise was heard. There were shouts as all too quickly the casket was unearthed and brought to the surface. Someone brought a crowbar and slid it under the lid pushing hard enough to crack the seal, to reveal inside…

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><p>Thanks for Reading!<br>Love it? Hate it? Please leave a review to let me know. (Anonymous Reviews Welcome).

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><p>*For those of us who can't stand poor spelling or can't understand text speech... Namely me, heheh.<p>

(If you don't solve that puzzle soon, your precious professor will stay exactly where he is, permanently. Better hurry. With love-W)

(A picture is worth 1000 words, don't you agree?)


	4. Chapter 4

Heheh, I know some of you are like, why are the chapters getting shorter? And I just realized how short this one is... But I've got one more chapter up my sleeve... Unfortunately, it's not that long either... But at least it's another chapter.

Anyway, since I didn't get around to sending people replies to their reviews, here they are:

**ProfessorLayton123: **I hope the wait didn't get the better of you. Here is Chapter 4!

_Anonymous:_

To** You Will Never Know**: Very clever Anon name, if you are still reading this, sorry to disappoint with chapter length. Please let me know where I missed those quotes, if it has to do with the character thoughts I follow a style of putting thoughts in _Italics _and leaving them be in the paragraph.

For a **_disclaimer _**see my profile: _**shadow101202**_

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><p><em><strong>Cha<strong>__**pter 4**_

"Hershel come this way," Claire laughed as he chased her across the field.

"Slow down Claire," Hershel chuckled as he raced after her, before stumbling and falling into a patch of daisies.

"Are you alright Hershel? Here lie your head on my lap," she smiled softly. Threading her fingers through his brown locks, she asked, "Hershel?"

"Hmm?" He lazily replied.

"When did you fall in love with me?"

"Well," the professor thought about it, "I believe it was from the first time I saw you," he answered smiling up at her. She laughed lightly at him,

"Always the romantic, hm?" she teased him.

"These beautiful tendrils are what reeled me in," he touched her head lightly before putting his hand back on his chest. Claire turned to look at something unseen off in the distance.

"Hershel… It's time for me to go…" Claire said glumly.

"No, Claire, I need to stay here with you," Hershel said sleepily.

"Silly," she reached down and pecked his lips, "there are two children who need you a lot more than I," she got up to leave him.

"Wait!" he said hoarsely. Claire turned around and smiled sadly,

"May we meet again under better circumstances, Hershel Layton," the professor watched as she walked off into a bright light.

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><p>"Professor!" Luke was clinging to the professor as Flora tried to pull him away.<p>

"Don't smother him Luke!" Luke realized that he shouldn't be leaning on the professor so much, and stepped back as he wiped the tears from his eyes.

"I wonder what he's dreaming about? He looks so content and peaceful," Flora commented.

"Yeah he's practically grinning," Luke agreed. Neither of the two seemed to notice the single tear that slid down the professor's cheek.

_**The End**_

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><p>Waaaaah! So sad... Maybe not, but I thought it was an ok-ish ending.<p>

Please stay tuned for the _**Epilogue**_! I will post that Thursday.

As Always:

Thanks for Reading!  
>Love it? Hate it? Please leave a review to let me know. (Anonymous Reviews Welcome).<p> 


	5. Chapter 5: Epilogue

Wah! I forgot to update... Next time I'm setting an alarm or something.

Anyway, since I didn't get around to sending people replies to their reviews, here they are... again:

**To nazo-nin: **Yay! Someone got the Monk reference! Glad you approve! Thanks for favoriting I really appreciate it.

**To Hoops and YoYo: **I was SO confused because United Geeks Of Nerdville was not showing up when I searched it. Then I clicked on the link and found that you changed names O.o Thank you, thank you, thank you, for putting me as a favorite author as well as a favorite story. Not I'm not sure if I've ever had anyone favorite me as an author.

_Anonymous:_

**You Will Never Know**- Yes you spelled epilogue correctly. Hehe, I loved the "Write on!" at the end there. If you don't mind, I'll probably use that sometime.

For a **_disclaimer _**see my profile: **shadow101202**

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><p><em><strong>Chapter 5: Epilogue<strong>_

Hershel Layton awoke to a cool breeze that caressed his face and went about its merry way. The professor's eyelids fluttered as he came back to the conscious world. After he'd rubbed the sleep from his eyes he noticed he was in a hospital bed, wearing a hospital gown. This was awkward to say the least. The professor looked toward the window where the breeze had come from, to see the figure of young Claire. She frowned at him and said,

"Hershel! I told you not to take off your top hat, and here I see you haven't even touched it for three days now," she scolded while pointing at the accessory that sat on the bedside table.

"Ah yes, I'm sorry Claire. I'll put it on as soon as I'm able," the professor conceded. Claire nodded in satisfaction at his answer.

"Who are you talking to professor?" asked Flora who entered the room with some nutritional looking food. _She must have gotten that from the cafeteria_, the professor observed. When the professor pointed to where Claire had stood, only the blustery curtains, flowing in the wind, remained. "Oh the cool wind must be bothering you. Here let me close this," Flora said as she moved to close the window.

"Ah… yes, thank you Flora," the professor spoke groggily, "must be seeing things," he murmured to himself. Looking at the door, a huge bouquet of flowers appeared, "Yes I must be seeing things," the professor repeated.

"Oh Luke! Let me help you with those, there's so many," Flora commented as she helped Luke get the flowers through the door. Luke produced a card from the fort of flowers and cleared his throat,

"The card reads; to Professor Layton, get well soon so I can beat you already! Sincerely, Don Paulo," Luke read with gusto. Professor Layton smiled as his two wards began to argue about where to place the flowers. _Yes, perhaps they do need me more_. Hershel looked out the window towards the sky.

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><p>Meanwhile, in a sleepy little village in France, a mysterious man read today's London Gazette.<p>

"Mastermind 'W' Steals 'Lost Jewels', Professor Layton Lucky to Be Alive! …Hmph. Lucky indeed. Seems like I underestimated those children, but next time there won't be anyone to rescue you, Hershel Layton." Only the echo of a devious laugh could be heard in the streets of the town.

_**FIN... Or is it?**_

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><p>Dun, dun, dun... Oh wait! … NO! I set it up for a sequel! How could I do that to myself! Not more writing? Oh well, I'm sure I'll enjoy the next one as much as I have this one... Now if I could only write my other stories with such vigor...<p>

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><p>Thanks for Reading!<br>Love it? Hate it? Please leave a review to let me know. (Anonymous Reviews Welcome).


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